QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, July 26, 2006, 26(30):7898-7906; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1327-06.2006

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental data Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kalb, J. Articles by Kurtz, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kalb, J. Articles by Kurtz, R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Robust Integration of Motion Information in the Fly Visual System Revealed by Single Cell Photoablation

Julia Kalb, Martin Egelhaaf, and Rafael Kurtz

Department of Neurobiology, University of Bielefeld, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany

Correspondence should be addressed to Julia Kalb, Department of Neurobiology, University of Bielefeld, Universitätsstraße 25, Postfach 10 01 31, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany. julia.kalb{at}uni-bielefeld.de

In the brain, sensory information needs often to be read out from the ensemble activity of presynaptic neurons. In the most basic case, this may be accomplished by an individual postsynaptic neuron. In the visual system of the blowfly, an identified motion-sensitive spiking neuron is known to be postsynaptic to an ensemble of graded-potential presynaptic input elements. Both the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons were shown previously to be capable of representing the velocity of preferred-direction motion reliably and linearly over a large frequency range of velocity fluctuations. Accordingly, the synaptic transfer properties of the connecting excitatory synapses between individual input elements and the postsynaptic neuron were shown to be linear over a similar range of presynaptic membrane potential fluctuations. It was not known, however, how the postsynaptic neuron integrates and reads out the presynaptic ensemble activity. We were able to compare the response properties of the integrating cell before and after eliminating individual presynaptic elements by a laser ablation technique. For most of the input elements, we found that their elimination strongly affected the activity of the postsynaptic neuron but did not degrade its performance to encode motion with constant and time-varying velocity. Our results suggest that the integration of individual synaptic inputs within the neural circuit operates with some redundancy. This feature might help the postsynaptic neuron to encode in a highly robust way the direction and the velocity of self-motion of the animal.

Key words: visual motion; synaptic transmission; invertebrates; sensory neurons; sensory integration; photoablation

---

Received Jan. 23, 2006; revised May 29, 2006; accepted June 18, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to Julia Kalb, Department of Neurobiology, University of Bielefeld, Universitätsstraße 25, Postfach 10 01 31, D-33501 Bielefeld, Germany. julia.kalb{at}uni-bielefeld.de

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Wertz, A. Borst, and J. Haag Nonlinear Integration of Binocular Optic Flow by DNOVS2, A Descending Neuron of the Fly J. Neurosci., March 19, 2008; 28(12): 3131 - 3140. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				U. Beckers, M. Egelhaaf, and R. Kurtz Synapses in the Fly Motion-Vision Pathway: Evidence for a Broad Range of Signal Amplitudes and Dynamics J Neurophysiol, March 1, 2007; 97(3): 2032 - 2041. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Haag, A. Wertz, and A. Borst Integration of Lobula Plate Output Signals by DNOVS1, an Identified Premotor Descending Neuron J. Neurosci., February 21, 2007; 27(8): 1992 - 2000. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help